Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — One of the six men implicated in the recent police raid of a gaming room in Nu’uuli appeared in the District Court yesterday. Amotai Floyd Makuisa is held on bail of $2,000 and is charged with one count of unlawful possession of controlled substance of methamphetamine (meth). 

Court documents state that on June 19, 2025, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) executed a search warrant for suspected illegal gambling at the Abundance Arcade establishment in the village of Nu'uuli, near the Logoai residence and at a building registered to Tino Logoai.

Upon arrival at the scene, DPS detectives discovered several men inside the establishment playing on what appeared to be gambling machines inside of a game room.

Makuisa was inside the game room and was patted down for weapons and illegal contraband during the search, as is standard protocol.

Police discovered a pill bottle that contained a clear baggie containing a white crystalline substance: three cut-up straws with a white crystalline substance; a glass pipe containing residue of a white crystalline substance; multiple used cut-up straws containing residue of a white crystalline substance, a fire torch: two small-sized baggies containing what appeared to be a powdery substance (with a hue of brown); a folded hand knife; and, cash in the amount of $16.32. 

Court documents further indicate the crystalline substances from the glass pipe, the baggie found in the pill bottle, and the cut-up straws were tested using a Methamphetamine Field Test kit.

As reported earlier by Samoa News, police took into custody six individuals, among whom were two Chinese nationals. Three of the individuals were detained for 48 hours and the others were released.

Yesterday, Makuisa appeared in court and the other two were released pending arrest warrants sought with the Attorney General’s office.

DPS Commissioner Taaga Saite Moliga had told KVZK TV when interviewed about the case that law enforcement officials executed a search warrant initially sought nearly a month ago.

According to the Commish, significant concerns have been raised regarding the presence of gaming machines in the territory and pointed out that they would have had to been smuggled across the borders without being detected by authorities, which raises issues of regulation and safety. Additionally, he highlighted the potential negative impact of such unregulated gaming on the community.